Page 73 of Hide and Sneak
I’ll be home in a few minutes.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen with us, but that’s not an invitation I’m prepared to turn down.
Sutton
Me too. I’ll pick up dinner on the way.
Amos isn’t at the trailer, but I’m surprised to see Mandy walking up to my door when I pull into the driveway.
“Hey,” I call, joining her and unlocking my front door. “Is everything alright?” She looks upset.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I know Amos doesn’t live here anymore, but I was hoping you might know where he is.” She’s on the verge of tears. Her words take a moment to register. Amos told her he moved? What’s going on?
“Come in. Sit down. Did you two have a fight or something?”
“Not exactly. I thought things were fine. I—” She pauses and shakes her head. “He won’t answer my texts or calls. I need to talk to him. Do you know where he is?”
“Right now, he’s at work. I’m not sure what time his lunch break is, but maybe you could?—”
“He found a new job?” she asks.
“No, he’s still at the distribution center.”
“No, he’s not. He quit a few weeks ago because he didn’t like one of the managers.”
What? That makes no sense. “Are you sure? He’s left for work every night at the same time and gets home late, if he comes home at all.”
She swallows and nods with a bitter smile. “He was with me. Until I found out...” Her voice cracks and tears fill her eyes.
If Amos was cheating, I’m going to kick him right in his narrow ass.
She swallows hard and tries again. “I’m pregnant.”
The floor seems to dip under my feet, and I sit down beside her. That was not something I was prepared to hear. “Pregnant? And it’s…”
“Yes, it’s his. I haven’t been with anyone but him.”
While I try to digest the news, I get up to grab her a glass of water and some tissues.
“Thank you,” she says, accepting them.
I’m struggling to get my thoughts together. A baby. Amos is going to have a baby. He can’t even take care of himself. Fuck, it doesn’t even look like he has a job now. He’s been lying about it. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything.”
“I know. It’s a lot.”
“What did he say when you told him?”
“That’s what’s so weird. He was great about it. He said he was happy that I wanted to keep the baby. He promised he’d get a good job and that I could move in here with him before the babywas born. Then he said he had to help Sutton with some stuff and left. In the middle of the night, I get a text that he needs a break and that he’s moving out of your trailer. Every message and call since then, he’s ignored.”
I’ve always known Amos was immature. I knew he could be a jerk and take advantage of people. But until this moment, I never thought he could be a genuinely bad person. “I’m sorry. I don’t know where he is right now but he hasn’t mentioned anything about moving out. I’ll call you when he comes back here.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “Thank you. If we’re done, I can live with that, you know? But if he’s bailing on the baby, I need to know. I need to be prepared to do this on my own.”
I’ve always believed that a woman should only have kids if she is financially prepared to be a single parent or at least have a backup plan in case that’s how things turn out. Because statistically, it’s a likely outcome.
“How far along are you?”
“I’m only nine weeks, so it’s still early.”
